Lining the coastal highway of Barangay Buruun in Iligan City are several cold spring resorts. Dubbed as the Timoga Springs, it’s a popular weekend getaway for Iliganons looking for an affordable way to cool down, especially during the hot summer season.

To be exact, there are five cold spring resorts along the Timoga highway; the Maravillas Swimming Pools, Mimay Spring Way Resort, Dela Mar Resort, Timoga Spring Pool and El Laurentio Swimming Pools. Each one having clean spring waters gushing in varying sizes of natural and artificial pools.

The largest of these is the Del Mar Resort with its Olympic-sized pool, but the most picturesque is the Timoga Spring Pool. After a quick tour of the nearby Macapagal-Macaraeg Ancestral House, we went with the latter.

Unlike traditional swimming pools, the waters filling the pools of Timoga Springs are free-flowing ones that come all the way from Lake Lanao in Marawi City. Considered as the largest freshwater lake, not only in Mindanao, but the whole Philippines, its high PH, alkaline waters are filtered to Sitio Timoga in Iligan through underground pathways.

The waters running along the Timoga Spring Pool are super-cold; it can rival even Tinago Falls’ shiver-inducing catch basin. One can only stay for a few minutes at a time before retreating to the numerous open cottages available at the resort.

We brought along packs of chow with us, but that didn’t stop us from buying snacks, like sour mangos with bagoong and crunchy peanuts, from the roaming vendors inside the resort.

We visited the Timoga Springs late in the afternoon and I can’t help but notice the sky change in color from cool blues to warm oranges. I immediately excused myself from my Iliganon friends and sprinted across the street, tripod and camera in hand.

The coastal area of Timoga in Buruun faces Iligan Bay. Similar to Iligan City’s Centennial Park, it also has a good view of the sunset during the afternoons. Only problem was, the waters of the bay is covered mostly by restaurants lining the highway. I had to pass through one, asking nicely of course, before I gained access to the sea.

Kids were running around, playing on a shallow stretch of the beach far into the horizon as fisher folks untangle and tow in their nets to check the day’s catch. For a few moment, everything was bathed in golden lights. It was magical.

One of the fisherman approached us; curious to know what we were doing, splashing around the shore of the bay in near darkness with gargantuan cameras in tow. Are you from the media? What show is this gonna be on? He inquired with a broad smile. No sir, I answered, we’re simply enjoying the afternoon colors of your city.